Kollam: For 22 consecutive days, around 400 families in the Maruthady division have been struggling without access to drinking water. The Kerala Water Authority (KWA) remains unable to identify the root cause of the disruption despite multiple interventions, leaving residents frustrated and on the brink of protest.

Efforts to restore the water supply have included multiple rounds of pipe replacement across the distribution network. Maintenance work continued even on Sunday and the authorities have now assured that water will begin flowing to the affected households by Monday morning.

However, repeated unfulfilled promises from the KWA have eroded public trust. If water is not restored as promised today, the residents here has warned that it will intensify its protests.

The crisis reportedly began after an old iron pipe near a culvert at Moothezhathu was replaced with a plastic one. While water continues to flow up to the culvert, the supply has stopped abruptly for the 400 families residing beyond that point. Despite the involvement of the ward councillor and several political leaders, the KWA has been unable to resolve the issue.

In the meantime, the Corporation has deployed water tankers to the area. But the supply has fallen short of meeting demand, forcing many households to purchase water at a cost of up to ₹800 per day.

Four days ago, local residents, including many women, staged a protest in front of Jalabhavan. Following the demonstration, officials once again promised to restore water by the next day. KWA engineers carried out inspections at the site, yet the situation remains unresolved. Over the weekend, the KWA launched another round of maintenance in a renewed attempt to fix the problem.